The DMV will resume walk-in service three days a week starting October 5.
Offices across the state have been seeing customers on an appointment-only basis since May 2020. The DMV continues to stress the success of operating by appointment only, stating it has conducted more transactions in person, online, and over the phone, than it did before the start of the pandemic.
The General Assembly, however, is forcing the DMV to begin offering walk-in service once again.
A DMV press release states:
Beginning October 5, 2021, Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) customers may choose to schedule an appointment for service or opt for walk-in service on alternating days at all 75 customer service centers (CSCs). Appointments for service will be offered only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; and walk-in service will be offered only on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Hours vary by office location.
Operating by appointment has proven to be overwhelmingly popular with customers, 77% of whom said in a survey that they wished to see appointments continue. During the pandemic, customers shifted the way they do business with DMV in that more customers are taking advantage of online and mail-based services.
DMV is conducting over 10% more transactions per week cumulatively through all service channels than before the pandemic. For the week ending September 4, 2021, customers completed 359,452 transactions across all service channels, as compared to the pre-pandemic weekly average of 309,111 total transactions.
Those who have appointments and then opt for walk-in service should cancel their appointment time so that someone else can claim it, states the DMV.
Customers will find the chairs in the lobby spaced out, and customers are encouraged to wear facemasks.
Here’s the site to find a DMV location near you. Also, several DMV Select offices operate in Stafford, Dumfries, and now in Haymarket that offer limited transactions but do not issue driver’s licenses.
